


Whispers in the Dark

by Effenay



Series: Starcatchers x P5 crossover [2]
Category: Original Work, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/M, Gen, Government Conspiracy, Lore - Freeform, More plot-fic than ship fic, P5 crossover, Persona 5 Spoilers, Political Intrigue, Politics, Psychological Drama, Psychological Trauma, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Spies, Spies & Secret Agents, Tags May Change, other-worldly characters, persona 5 x Original concept, starcatchers, start of madarame's palace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29959599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Effenay/pseuds/Effenay
Summary: For years, Masayoshi Shido has been one of the SGI's persons of interest. And in the wake of the countless mental shutdowns and breakdowns, the Starcatcher operative is forced to collaborate with the Homura operative; whose objective is to take down the mastermind's network. Just as things have begun to shift in motion, word on the net whispers of a mysterious group known as the phantom thieves subjugating their targets into confessions of their crimes. Mira Saito, whose relationship with Goro Akechi takes unexpected turn as breadcrumb trails begin to rouse suspicion.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Starcatchers x P5 crossover [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127123





	Whispers in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> HEY HO! I know it's been... a long time. I'm sorry. but I did say that I decided to divide this fic into parts to make it easier for me to keep track of so many things. As you can tell I have made a lot of drastic changes from this part's prologue, but in the end of the day, this is merely a project I merely wanted to set a goal to finish. To readers who have been disappointed or frustrated, I'm sorry. Uni's come back and I am a disorganized mess of a human being. I hope this fic will entertain you or interest you, if not, I guess I failed XD.  
> Don't hesitate to criticise this work because I have a lot to learn as a writer and will be more than willing to take the bite of negative/positive feedback when possible.  
> Now, enough about me, I present to you part 2 of the Starcatcher x Persona 5 crossover fic.

Tatsuki wasn’t there when the rumours started.

At the time, the rumours were vague to him, something about thieves publicly threatening to rob the bastard gym teacher Kamoshida. Usually, the mere sound of that man’s name set Tatsuki on edge. But to hear his perpetrator under hot water by some unknown group elated him just as it felt unsettling.

He wanted to know; wanted to verify if that was even possible. The former volleyball member was desperate to find out. So, by the time he reached the notice board, hardly a trace of the threat was present. Rather than the expected smatter of calling cards pinned on the cork, instead he found corners of red attached to the pins of the board. The shujin student frown but found a mess of red cards piled inside its designated bin.

Tatsuki grimaced at the notion of sticking his hands inside the waste bin, but swallowed his hesitation. He dug his hand through the transparent box and grabbed one of the cards to read its contents;

_‘Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on your students that can’t fight back. That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready._

_From the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.’_

He didn’t know why, but the first thing he thought of was-

_Ayame-san._

His boss’s acquaintance who sneaked into Shujin Academy on his behalf. A girl who dared to trespass the school just so she could investigate the origin of his brutal injuries. Tatsuki vaguely remembered Ayame making a promise to do something about Kamoshida’s serial abuses. But that recollection alone was enough to make the former volleyball member cold.

**May 2 20XX**

It’s been a week since Kamoshida didn’t show his face in the school grounds. Six days to be precise.

Something about those two separate memories lingered in the back of his mind, mulling over the idea that he might have involved himself with something deeper. Something dangerous and possibly illegal. He mulled over the idea that it might have been Ayame Takahashi; she did after all, trespassed the school wearing the Shujin uniform. But then again, did the thievery even take place? Or that the threat was no more than a prank?

As the students gathered in the gym for a sudden morning assembly, Tatsuki did his best not to panic in the presence of his classmates. Much to his surprise, the usual animosity he felt had somewhat depleted; instead, careless mouths spoke with apathetic whispers.

“-about the girl who jumped, isn’t it?”

“-probably another suicide prevention speech-”

“-classes are cut short anyway, so it’s better than-”

“-It should’ve been Suzui-san who should be taking lessons here-”

Principle Kobayakawa hobbled the stairs up to the stage. Tatsuki glanced at the students around him, frowns and hands cupped their whispers in disinterest. Normally, anyone would be irritated at the disrespectful sight. But Tatsuki felt it a better alternative to their judging stares pointed directly at him.

The west wing door slammed open, startling the Shujin student.

_Kamoshida?_

The gym teacher hunched in forlorn. “I… have been reborn- That is why, I have decided to confess to you all…”

Rows of student heads followed him as he trudged towards the stage.

_“-I need your full cooperation to get to the bottom of this-”_

Ayame’s words echoed in Tatsuki’s head as he realised-

_Is this really happening?_

The thought alone made him shudder as the words of that calling card came to mind.

* * *

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Whose face do you see in the hall?”

“Koha-”

“Wrong. Try again.”

“Ayumi.”

Standing before the bathroom mirror, glass reflected a stranger’s face. A scrawny, unkept short- haired child whose shoulders were weighed down her mother’s hands. Despite Mother’s gentle weight, her smile felt strange to the child’s eyes.

“Wrong again.”

The child’s small fingers itched to tug at the hem of her over-sized shirt, but knew Mother’s hands would grip her painfully tight. With a small voice the child tried again; “Miyu.”

Mother blinked; her smile grew warm. “That’s right, your name is Miyu. So, Miyu-kun, what do you like the most?”

“M…mouse cake-”

“Ah-ah,” Mother shook her head. “That’s what Ayumi wants, remember?”

The child- no, Miyu felt her mouth quiver, but immediately grew more frustrated. “Why can’t Ayumi, Koharu and- M-Miyu like mouse cake!”

“Oh, but I thought you never liked cake, Miyu-kun,” Mother smoothly interjected. Her grey eyes staring back at Miyu’s brown eyes. “Miyu-kun’s so energetic, you’d prefer peaches over cake, no?”

Miyu saw her face growing red before the mirror. Clamping her teeth shut, she puffed her cheeks at her Mother, realising words won’t go through her.

“Pouting won’t help you win this game,” Mother’s voice grew colder. “You know what happens when you lose, child.”

The child’s anger deflated, washed over by a sudden petrifying fear; for not a word or a shudder came out of her.

“Alright, again,” Mother sighed, then held the child’s hand; indicating the change of face once more. “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Whose face do you see on the hall?”

The changed disposition. The fact that Mother’s voice sounded quieter, or that she was holding her tiny hand could only mean she was referring to-

“Ayumi…” the child answered. “…chan.”

“How are you feeling now, Ayumi-chan?”

“…Ayumi-chan is feeling much better.”

_Don’t answer her._

The child jolted at the voice within.

_They are liars. All of them._

The child’s back grew heavy, the feel of her mother’s hand grew numb.

_Make a name for yourself, don’t listen to her lies!_

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.” The woman began recite.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.”

“…irror, mi...or on the …all.”

“Mi…or, ror on the wa…”

“Mi _…ra_ mir… _a_ on the wa-”

The world around her shifted, the bathroom walls melted into a wall of bullet-scarred halls. Splinters of wood splayed across the marble floor with smatters of glass shards on its edges. The child looked at her small hands had grown significantly big, her clothes dyed in white wearing a blue wide-belt.

“Mira, Mira on the wall,” her mother’s voice grew harsh. “Whose face do you see on the wall?”

* * *

Brown eyes flung open at the alarm on her phone.

_Damn me._

Mira reached for her device with languid fingers, feeling the swelling itch on her eyelids and the dryness of her throat. It had been years since she had a dream as a nameless child; much less with that terrible game she was made to play. Regardless of what transpired to have triggered this, she cursed the morning at the mere memory of her mother’s manipulative ways.

With a heavy sigh, she curled into a ball, burying her closed eyes on her knees.

_Please make this the last time I’ll ever be this weak._

Unplugging the charging wire off her phone, Mira stared at the notification on her screen.

_KAWAKI: Ayame-san, was this you who did this?_

The agent arched her brows and swiped back to the photo of the card. Upon reading the contents of the card, she sat up and rested her chin on her knees.

_SAITO: No. What happened? How did you come by this?_

She waited for the Shujin student’s response, only to find nothing on his side of the conversation.

“Phantom thieves…” The insider took a second look at the photo, zooming in to assess the image. Just for extra measure, she unlocked the SGI’s app and sent the photo to the archive and analyst branch’s system.

Almost immediately, her phone rang on high alert, its screen flashing orange.

She jolted upright, pulling the covers off her as she glanced at her phone.

_‘All personnel of the Starcatcher Operative. Please be advised to for a possible third-party breech. An inquire meeting will be scheduled in the coming week.’_

Mira quickly shed her night-clothes off, throwing on a simple shirt and tracks just in case circumstances might change. As she paced out of her room, an ominous thought plagued her every step.

“It can’t possibly be…” she shook the thought away, and proceeded to head over to her team’s meeting room.


End file.
